Togston Tower (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Togstone

In the civil parish of Togston.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of Northumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NU252027
Latitude 55.31812° Longitude -1.60591°

Togston Tower has been described as a probable Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

Description

No mention of any Tower at Togston is made in the list of fortalices of 1415, but there seems to have been a stronghold here. It stood on a site a little to the north west of Mr Lawson-Smith's house until c.1820 when it was taken down by Mr T G Smith (Hodgson 1899).
Tower (Hadcock 1939)
Togston Hall (NU 25160263) was once the residence of Mr Lawson-Smith. I have never heard of a tower in the vicinity of the house (F1 EG 24-FEB-1954)
Area centred NU 25100274. The area north west of Togston Hall was perambulated but no traces of a tower were to be seen. The highest ground in the vicinity is that on which Togston Farm (NU 25100274) stands, which agrees with the topographical description in Hodgson. The pasture field to the north of Togston Hall is very hummocky, but this is due to mining subsidence (F2 EG 24-FEB-1954)
A medieval tower a little to the north west of Togston Hall was demolished in 1820 (Listed Building Report). (Northumberland HER - where recorded as bastle)

Togston Hall, started off as a tower with thick walls and slit windows; a datestone of 1546 may indicated the building date, or perhaps an alteration. In 1685 a stair wing was added and other changes were made to improve comfort.. William Smith bought it in 1812, then found the old place was too small and dark so he built a new hall in 1820. The tower was retained as a rear outbuilding, but there is little to see of it or of contemporary bake and brew houses now. (Dodds 1999)

Comments

Although the Northumberland HER records this is a bastle all sources write about a tower with the implication of it being C15. The actual form is not known but could have been a small solar tower. The mid C16 bastle at Togston Hall might be a replacement on a slightly different site. The location, 'a little to the north west' of Togston Hall is uncertain but possible under Togston Hall Farm. Dodd's assertion that part of the tower remains seems unsupported by more authoritative accounts and he is probably confusing the surviving bastle with the historic tower house..

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 8028.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N5600.

Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 229
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 115 (slight)
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 354
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 326
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle) p. 163
  Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1899, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 5 p. 326 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'A map of mediaeval Northumberland and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 16 p. 148-218

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